Greetings all! Occasionlly I get a message: "Internet Explorer not responding" ...then after about one minute it continues. This laptop (Windoze XP) only has 256MB of memory, would this be causing this?Thanks for any opinions.Tonywa9yoz73's

Greetings all! Occasionlly I get a message: "Internet Explorer not responding" ...then after about one minute it continues. This laptop (Windoze XP) only has 256MB of memory, would this be causing this?Thanks for any opinions.Tonywa9yoz73's

This is a no brainier. Your are lucky to even get booted up with IE today. When XP launched 12 years code was simpler and footprint in memory was smaller and it could run on 256meg at time but today 3 service pack later and hundreds of updates and add ons to code it struggles to run well on 512 meg at times. IE is also one of the worst browsers to use on a old machine with limited resources. WinDoze creates virtual memory on HD to create fake memory but it can be painfully slow as is swaps code on and off HD to execute it. And the catch here is that the bigger the swap file the LESS program memory you have because each "page" of code on HD requires a allocation of RAM to track and manage it so the more fake memory you make on HD the less real memory you have and the slower it get until you finally get a page fault and a crash.

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--------------------------------------Ham since 1969.... Old School 20wpm REAL Extra Class..

If you have antivirus software running, try uninstalling it. I've had a couple of old XP machines come back to life when Norton is removed. Of course, that leaves you vulnerable to a virus but if you are not using the computer on the Internet (i.e. only using it for digital ham radio modes) that shouldn't be a big problem.

If you have antivirus software running, try uninstalling it. I've had a couple of old XP machines come back to life when Norton is removed. Of course, that leaves you vulnerable to a virus but if you are not using the computer on the Internet (i.e. only using it for digital ham radio modes) that shouldn't be a big problem.

The only way you will speed it up with only 256meg is to do a reinstall with no service packs, no updates, no add ons and no new versions of Internet explorer. The OS and software has outgrown the hardware here. Maxing out ram and installing a new hard drive would help it some. (new hard drives are much faster than older ones)

« Last Edit: March 04, 2012, 06:31:24 AM by W8JX »

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--------------------------------------Ham since 1969.... Old School 20wpm REAL Extra Class..

For just browsing the web, try a Linux live CD. Use one of the minimal ones like Slitaz or an old version of Knoppix. This eliminates windoze altogether.

Another useful idea is to bag IE and down load the last version of firefox that runs under win98. You can find it at a web site callled http://www.oldapps.com/firefox.php look for the OS level on the left and navigate to the down load area for the OS you want. I have some ancient computers running Win 2K that benefit from running old apps. You have to be on your guard for viruses etc cuz there is a reason for all the patching etc. You can get the absolute rock bottom anit virus at Clamwin.

If you really want to continue running ancient hardware and your emphasis is browsing and maybe ham radio aps, you should consider Linux. Browsing is well supported, without the virus problems. Old ham aps tend to work under wine (linux) just fine. You have to learn to use it so it will be about like running some old ham gear, you have to tune it and adjust it and repair it sometimes.

It must take a long time to boot right now, let alone run applications. Not sure how much RAM your system can hold, but the "max it out" advice is sound. Your system likely has integrated graphics, so a portion of your RAM is always allocated for that. 256MB may turn into 192MB or less for running the OS and aps. Also, at the minimum, I'd do a cleanup of that hard drive and ensure it's defragmented and free of parasitic software like adware, etc.

Honestly James on 256 meg it is a moot point to do all of this. The extra effort could even force old HD into failure. It needs more memory, not more scanning or checking. Code has gotten so fat it is in a constant state of swapping just to run before you add more tasks too it. it would crawl with these scans constantly swapping code to do it.

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--------------------------------------Ham since 1969.... Old School 20wpm REAL Extra Class..

Sure the pc is memory starved, however, if he just uses itfor email and visiting eham, etc it is up to the task.

Now if he wants to watch Youtube videos or try torun a video editing program, then that is a no go.

Even one or two malware items on the machine will slow it down.

Every machine and user is different, I've run an older IBM thinkpad with 256mb real memory for years and use Firefox just fine. I use it when I travel to remote tothe office machines, email and eham.It also worked well for digipan psk31 on field day.

The bloated MS code is no secret along with memory leaksand patches upon patches.

If a newer machine is in his budget, take a look at IBM certified used, all about three years young, off leaseand with free shipping and includes Windows 7 OS.

Honestly James on 256 meg it is a moot point to do all of this. The extra effort could even force old HD into failure. It needs more memory, not more scanning or checking. Code has gotten so fat it is in a constant state of swapping just to run before you add more tasks too it. it would crawl with these scans constantly swapping code to do it.

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